Pet-food enterprise gets R50m from dti

THE DEPARTMENT Trade and Industry (dti) said yesterday that it will this week launch a R50 million black industrialist pet-food manufacturing firm in Gauteng.

Maneli Foods in Edenvale, east of Johannesburg, was approved for grant funding of R12.5m from the department’s Black Industrialist Scheme (BIS).

The BIS is an incentive of the Black Industrialists Programme that aims to unlock the potential within black industrialists operating in the South African economy through deliberate, targeted and well-defined financial and non-financial interventions.

Maneli is a fairly new company founded by entrepreneur Nhlanhla Dlamini.

His expertise covers strategy, operations, energy, transport and logistics and banking. Prior to establishing Maneli Foods, Dlamini worked for McKinsey & Company for five years, and for Morgan Stanley as an investment banker in London.

The company, which started operating in June, manufactures high-protein pet foods, with raw materials sourced from Limpopo, Northern Cape and the Eastern Cape.

Maneli also obtained funding of R26.6m from the Industrial Development Corporation, and the owners have made an equity contribution of R8m to the project.

The company has so far created 42 jobs since commencing production with the intention of creating 80 direct jobs during the next five years.

Deputy minister Bulelani w said that they were continuing to fund black industrialists.

“The dti has approved funding for 25 black industrialists projects in Gauteng, projecting to inject R2.2 billion in the province economy with more than 2 600 direct jobs to be created.

“These investments cut across the productive sectors of the economy, such as metals and pharmaceuticals,” Magwanishe said.

The department said it would take a group of black industrialists on an outward trade mission to Uganda next month to assist them search for a market for their products and investments opportunities.